I rarely used to get even the common cold. Then I started to work with children and, you know, those darned bodily fluids were a-flowing all over the place and sneezes and coughs sprayed generously. Now I have a couple of my own germ transmitters and one of them is in school!

Last week, when I dropped my daughter off at school, I heard someone ask her teacher how she was feeling. The teacher’s nasal voice proceeded to complain about how sick she had been and that she was feeling a little better, so I wasn’t surprised when my daughter came home sneezing soon after.

Now my son, who for months was only nursing upon awakening, has recently been asking for breastmilk several times a day. He hasn’t gotten sick at all, that too is another post, but it seems to me that his body is keeping him healthy by making him a frequent diner at Mom’s Breastaurant.

My daughter got a minor cold, the worst part of which was the sound of her cough. Of course, the cough was mostly at night and, although she seemed to sleep through it along with her father and brother, I could not. The next night, right before she brushed her teeth, out came my magic cough syrup. My son loves this concoction, but my daughter has a more normal palate. Luckily, it works so well that I just need to remind her of it’s effects and she happily drinks it. You might add garlic for it’s antibiotic properties, but if this is for your child, you probably shouldn’t push it.

All you do is stir well equal parts of apple cider vinegar and honey. Half a tablespoon of each is really enough.  (Please do not give honey to children who are less than twelve months old.)

The Mayo Clinic agrees that honey is a great cough suppressant and you can read more on apple cider vinegar here.